Conventionally, card game apparatuses that use a card (trading card) as a play item to serve as a medium for playing a game have been put to practical use. For example, soccer game apparatuses are well known as such card game apparatuses. In the soccer card game apparatus, in response to a player (gamer) arranging player cards on a player card disposition panel (hereinafter referred to as “playfield”), an internal image sensor reads the card data recorded on the bottom sides of the player cards, and data on a team made up of multiple players are created from these player cards, so that a game is started. The player is allowed to give instructions on the positions or formation of the players by changing the disposition of the player cards on the playfield. In such a card game, one player card is newly paid out to the player every time a game is played. Therefore, the player has pleasure in being able to collect a new card usable in a card game, such as a player card. Further, in addition to the above-described soccer card game, card game apparatuses have been provided for playing a battle game of wild times in a civil war period.
In these card game apparatuses, the information recorded in multiple cards placed on a playfield is read and the movements of the cards are detected with a game progress control program, so that the progress of a game is controlled. Further, the game allows players to play against each other or allows a single player to play against a computer. Examples of such card game apparatuses include the invention described in Patent Document 1, which has been proposed by the applicant of the present application.
The card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is the above-described soccer card game apparatus. In this card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in response to a player selecting player cards from multiple player cards having respective specific card information and placing them on a playfield, an image sensor provided inside the game apparatus reads the specific card information recorded on the bottom sides of the player cards so that data on a team made up of multiple players are created. When a game starts, a game progress control program is caused to control the progress of the game by detecting the movements and positions of the player cards.
Further, Patent Document 1 also shows that the card information recorded on the bottom side of a player card is composed of a code pattern and that there is provided means for detecting the position and orientation of the card placed on the playfield by analyzing the information of the code pattern.
Further, according to the card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the player can give instructions on the positions and formation of the players by moving the player cards placed on the playfield in a sliding manner. Further, shooting is executed by the player operating on a SHOOT button, and an image representing this is displayed on a monitor. When one game ends, a new player card is paid out from the card payout part of the card game apparatus, so that the player can newly add on one player card. Patent Document 1 discloses that use of this newly added player card makes it easy for the player to make player choices or change players when playing the next game.
Since the card game apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a soccer card game, the player proceeds with a game while moving 11 player cards placed on the playfield. Further, the attribute (parameter) information of a corresponding player, such as shooting strength, is stored for each player card in the storage unit of the card game apparatus. Accordingly, the player can play a game full of variety.
However, for example, in games where one or more units are organized to play against enemy units, such as battle games of wild times in a civil war period or space war games, adopting the below-described means allows players to play games more strategically.
(1) Enabling a player to organize one or more units made up of a group of multiple cards in consideration of game tactics before playing a game.
(2) Controlling the progress of the game so that the player can play the role of a commander (captain) that commands the units during the play of the game.
In order to adopt the means described above in (1) and (2), the player organizes a unit made up of multiple cards as a preparation for starting a game, and it is necessary to record the specific information pre-recorded in a group of these organized multiple cards in the storage unit of the game apparatus on a unit basis as information forming a single unit. Further, during the play of a battle game, all cards making up one or more units are not moved on the playfield, but a main card (main play item) of a card group forming each unit is predetermined. Therefore, the player may move only this main play item on the playfield, so that the player's card operation is extremely simplified.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-301264